Good morning, everyone and welcome to my thirtieth blog.

As a family, we started lockdown on the sixteenth of March on our return from travelling.  Today we have been in lockdown for 100 days.   In my Gratitude and laughter blog written on the third of April, I shared some personal thoughts of what lockdown had meant to me and my family. I spent some time this week reflecting on the time subsequent to my writing that blog. I would like to share some of these thoughts with you. Many changes but also many constants.

1.  From the 14th of April, my life has changed enormously. A physio friend of mine, who is at risk, asked me to cover her practice. I did not hesitate for a moment. A couple of weeks treating the elderly in retirement homes relatively close to home seemed like a good thing to keep me busy and to perhaps save a few shekels for the inevitable winter retail therapy that would take place as soon as the clothing stores reopened. Well, it started with a couple of patients, and slowly, but surely, it increased. I am now treating about thirty patients a week at various places and have still one or two patients at my home practice in between. This compared to about three to five patients a week for a number of years prior to lockdown. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I have now fully taken over this practice, have bought a new accounting package, and am on another learning curve. I also have my nutrition business, this blog, my Instagram, and Facebook posts which have become more and more about getting my name and brand out there. This huge change in my life has invigorated me tremendously and I am absolutely loving the journey. I seem to be improving on my time management, too. necessity is the mother of invention.
2.  As a direct result of this, my mornings have also changed dramatically. I wake up early as I need to get to retirement homes to try to manage to treat a few patients before their breakfast. I am also still exercising most days and I have started meditating once a week. Baby steps for this. What is quite fun is that I exercise with some of my patients, too.
3. I am therefore in a car often now which was not the case at all at the start of lockdown. What has been interesting is that initially when I started working at the homes, there was absolutely no traffic and it was a breeze to travel from home to home. it is now almost back to normal and is taking me longer to navigate my way through the retirement villages of the Northern suburbs of Johannesburg. deep breathing exercises do wonders. I also have my temperature checked as i enter each home, I fill in a form and state who I am going to treat and also have to show my drivers license at a couple of the homes. I am more than happy to do this, for obvious reasons.
4. The treatments that I now do have also altered hugely. Most of my patients need assistance with walking,  and strengthening of the large muscle of their body, as well as advice and guidance as a result of a stroke or a total hip replacement or following a fall. So. it’s a bit of cajoling for some and for others it is the highlight of their day, My treatment is for their minds and for their bodies and it is so very rewarding, I can be silly, we laugh and chat and I believe it benefits both them and me. I have also been able to chat with some of them in the way in which I chatted endlessly to Muz and that has been beyond healing for me and I believe this will continue to be the case. What has struck me so much is the huge loneliness throughout all the retirement villages, particularly during these challenging and confusing times. As mentioned in a previous blog, the power of human touch can not be overlooked or underestimated. There are however awesome sons and daughters and grandchildren out there who absolutely love their Mums, Dads, Grannies, Grandpas, Sisters, and Brothers. I am forever chatting to relatives, sending messages, and making videos which is the least I can do. This is very different from my neck and back patients who come, get treated, and go, and the next time we have contact is at their next appointment.
5.  I also dress differently now. I wear a visor/shield all the time whilst treating at the homes and have a mask tied around my neck in case. At my home practice, I wear a mask. A number of my patients are hard of hearing so rely on lip-reading whilst I treat them, so the visor seems to be the best option. I also feel that it protects me better and I am not tempted to touch my eyes. I disinfect with hand wash after each patient and between retirement homes, I also take off the visor, and spray it with disinfectant and I spray my shoes and my white coat. The disinfectant spray catches my throat every time but that is a minor detail. I wear a doctor’s coat for added protection and I remove that on my return home. I must explain here that I am not on the front line and I am not treating anyone who has Covid, so my stringent precautions and protective measures are preventative but nonetheless very important. My elderly patients are at risk, so it is vital that I do this. Also a far cry from my pants and blouse that I wore when treating at my practice at home back in the day,
6. Since April, the rest of the family have been working endlessly and tirelessly. The varsity students have been amazing as they forge their way through this time and Rich does not seem to leave his study, which is his now not-so-new office. As a result of not seeing each other during the day, we all still really like each other a lot and that has been fantastic. We eat dinner together every night and the conversations are wonderful. it’s like having a dinner party (for me, at least) every night. Having them all at home is still the absolute best. This precious gift of unexpected quality and quantity time with them has meant and means the world to me. It has been particularly awesome to have them around as we navigate a new life without Muz. Just having them there to hug, to chat with, to laugh with, and to irritate has been fantastic.
7. The freezer and fridge are not as full as they were back in April, but there is more than sufficient. Flip these boys seem to hoover their way through so much food all the time and with endless enthusiasm! I order a lot online and dash into Woollies more often than I would like, shopping up a quick storm. I still love looking at recipe books and swapping ingredients, and learning and experimenting, but just a little less than I used to.
8. The online academics still seem to be going well for my indulged children except when there is an exam. Whenever the dogs bark (frequently) the Hadadas shriek (often) there is a buzz at the gate for deliveries (consistently) and the leaf blower is activated (sometimes) I rush to try to get rid of the offending noise lest the child being examined loses concentration and it wrecks his exam. There was a horrid incident of a laptop crashing when I was out treating, part of the curve, and another life lesson for my boys. It made my heart so happy that the other two rushed in to help armed with their laptops. my boys really do love one another, in spite of the regular and often hilarious bickering that takes place.
9. I am definitely feeling more vulnerable now that things are opening up a bit which s not what I anticipated feeling. Perhaps more so than at the start of our lockdown, when we envisaged a few weeks of this weirdness, not a few years. The novelty has completely worn off and has been replaced by a niggling fear which is often hard to get rid of.  I am certain you all feel as I do, not knowing. How will this all end? I am trying to feel positive and thankful but sometimes it is not easy.
10. My canine girls are still very happy, and they really help us to feel good. My oxytocin levels remain high because I love and pat them so much. They were not very happy when I started leaving the house for long periods of time but they too seem to have got used to another new normal and could not be happier when I return home.
11. I am still connecting with friends, but more so with actual cell phone calls or messages rather than zoom or house party calls. We have ventured out discreetly to see friends more recently but are keeping this low key.
12. I am eating more chocolates and sweets and perhaps but it is what I need to do at the moment for various reasons, and that is okay. We are eating for health most of the time and I am pleased with our steps in this direction.
13. We are still very grateful for our warm beds and homes, especially during these cold wintry times. Being out of the house so much more now, I also feel so happy returning to my haven of a home after a busy day of treating and travelling.
14. I wake up most mornings feeling thankful and grateful for my day. I have pasted the main points of my success and choices blogs on my bedroom wall and refer to them every day. So, my walking the talk is definitely on the up.
15. I am still laughing often with my family, my patients, and my friends and, amongst its many other benefits, I really believe that this enhances my overall feeling of well-being.

Thank you for indulging me.  I have no advice for you today, but really hope that you can relate to some of this blog. Wishing you all a magnificent weekend.

Tip number twenty-nine

I just love Jean Grey’s quote, “We come into this world alone, and we leave the same way, the time we spend in between…time spent alive, sharing, learning…together is all that makes life worth living.”